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Visit our website at http://www.women.gov.ns.ca/
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NEWSBYTES - for Friday, December , 2007
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Newsbytes is a members’ electronic newsletter.
Each story is introduced in this plain-text e-mail message, with hyperlinks to
the full article or related topics when applicable. The newsletter, can also be
accessed from the NSACSW website at http://women.gov.ns.ca/medianew
CONTENTS AT A GLANCE
/1/ Provincial and Federal Ministers Call for End to Violence Against Women
/2/ Wife Killers Seldom Have Records of Violence, Study Says
/3/ Canada Pension and Me: Calling All Senior Women
/4/ Pensions and Retirement Savings of Families
/5/ New Pharmacare Program
/6/ Canada Slips to 18th in Rankings of Gender Equality
/7/ IWK Studies
/8/ Did You Know?
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/1/ PROVINCIAL AND FEDERAL MINISTERS CALL FOR END TO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
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To view a message from the Honourable Carolyn
BolIvar-Getson, minister responsible for the Advisory Council on the Status of
Women about violence against women, go to http://women.gov.ns.ca/Dec6_07
The Honourable Josée Verner,
Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages, also
called for an end to violence against women, in recognition of the
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November
25.(For more see,
http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca
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/2/ WIFE KILLERS SELDOM HAVE RECORDS OF VIOLENCE, STUDY SAYS
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The typical Canadian spouse-killer is a common-law husband with no prior record of violence against his wife, according to a new report from the annual series titled Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile. There are many reasons women do not report abuse, including fear of reprisal against themselves or their children. A previous study found that only 28 per cent of victims of spousal violence turned to police.
Some of the findings:
– 74 per cent of killers and would-be killers had no prior arrest records for spousal violence in police files going back to 1995.
– 22 per cent had three or fewer arrests, while the remaining four per cent, considered chronic offenders, had four or more arrests.
– 82 per cent were male, meaning it was far less common for a woman to kill or try to kill a spouse.
– The good news is the overall rate of spousal homicide has shrunk by more than half in about three decades.
– From 1974 to 2004, the rate for female victims dropped 57 per cent from 16.5 per million women in spousal relationships to 7.1, while the rate for male victims dropped 68 per cent from 4.4 per million men in such relationships to 1.4 million, the 2006 edition of the study said.
The report says the "possible explanations for this decrease in spousal homicide rates, particularly among female victims, include increased gender equality, changes in police and court policies towards spousal violence and an increase in services for persons experiencing family violence, such as specialized domestic violence courts and emergency shelters for abused women".
Read more: http://www.statcan.ca/english
Source: Statistics Canada, October 11.
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/3/ CANADA PENSION AND ME: CALLING ALL SENIOR WOMEN
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This is an update on the Women and Canada Pensions Project, an initiative of the Women's Centres in the Western area of Nova Scotia, funded by Status of Women Canada. Phase III is now underway. The first two phases involved interviewing women on their experiences and developing a policy and recommendation document. Phase III's goal is to increase rural senior women's access to the Canada Pension System.
There will be a series of Meet and Greet sessions held in Lunenburg County during the day starting mid-March to find out what information senior women want to know about all aspects of the Canada Pension System, particularly with regard to their entitlements and supports through the Canada Pension Plan.
We need your input. If you have questions about the Canada Pension System and your entitlements, please get involved and attend one of the sessions. Pass this invitation along to a senior woman or Women's Group in your community. Contact Janet Meisner at (902) 543-5384 for more information and to have your name added to a contact sheet for meetings in the spring.
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/4/ PENSIONS AND RETIREMENT SAVINGS OF FAMILIES
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Prime-aged couples experienced a moderate decline in Registered Pension Plan (RPP) coverage over the last two decades. The substantial growth in wives’ labour market participation and the slight increase in their RPP coverage only partially offset a substantial decline in husbands’ coverage. On average, retirement savings of families rose over the last two decades, but the distribution became more unequal. To a large extent, the uneven growth in retirement savings mirrors the sharp increase in family earnings inequality since the early 1980s.
Read more: http://www.statcan.ca/english
Source: Perspectives on Labour and Income - November 2007
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/5/ NEW PHARMACARE PROGRAM
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Many Nova Scotians will benefit from the Nova Scotia Family Pharmacare program to help defray the cost of prescription drugs starting March 1, 2008.
The program is available to all Nova Scotians and everyone is encouraged to enrol. Being in the program will give Nova Scotians peace of mind in case their medical needs change and they require prescription drugs. In some cases, these drugs can cost thousands of dollars. The program, which requires no premium or fees to enrol, will also have a cap on annual out-of-pocket costs for eligible drugs at a percentage of a family's income.
The Family Pharmacare program will not affect existing private or public drug assistance plans such as those offered through the Department of Community Services.
All residents with a valid Nova Scotia health card can enrol. More information and enrolment forms are available on the government website at www.nspharmacare.ca , or by calling toll-free 1-877-330-0323.
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/6/ CANADA SLIPS TO 18TH IN RANKINGS OF GENDER EQUALITY
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Canada has slipped four spots to 18th place compared with the rest of the world in providing
gender equality, according to a World Economic Forum study that examined 128 countries.
Nordic countries received the best marks for gender parity in education, employment, health and politics. Sweden has more women then men holding high public office and topped the list.
Based on a scale where perfect equality was assigned a score of 1.0, Canada achieved
an overall mark of 0.72. That included almost perfect marks in the categories of educational attainment (0.999) and health and survival (0.979). However, Canada scored lower on economic participation and opportunity (0.74) and much lower (0.159) on political empowerment, with women making up only 21 per cent of Members of Parliament and 23 per cent of cabinet posts in Parliament.
Full article online at: http://www.macleans.ca/article
Source: Maclean’s Magazine, Nov.8.
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/7/ IWK STUDIES
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The IWK and the provincial Department of Health are currently conducting two studies. The first is an HPV Vaccine Study (Gardasil) for girls 9 to 13 years old. Gardasil is the vaccine that is given to girls in Grade 7 as part of the school-based public health program. Thirteen-year-old girls in Grade 8 or Grade 9 who will miss the funded program are targeted for the study and will receive the vaccine free of charge. For more information, call Cathy at (902) 470-7015 or send an e-mail to catherine.brown@iwk.nshealth.ca .
The second study is a focus group inviting pregnant women to discuss immunization for pertussis (whooping cough) during pregnancy. If you are pregnant and are in your second or third trimester, contact Darlene Baxendale at (902) 470-8931.
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/8/ DID YOU KNOW...
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... That Information about income, spending
habits and poverty among Canadian families is now available online at http://www.ccsd.ca/factsheets
Source: Canadian Council on Social Development, Nov.15.
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Next Issue of NEWSBYTES – December 21, 2007
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